Chapter Bonanza (5/5)

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Nan Liujing immediately opened his tablet to look up the recipe he had just obtained.

【Baked Apple】

【Category: Cuisine · Snack】

【Required Ingredients: Apple x1.】

【Optional Ingredients: Honey, ?, ?, ?.】

【Reference Price: 210 Sol.】

【‌Freshness:‌ Fresh】

【Effect: Restores 30 Stamina.】

【Perfect for cold weather; the baked apple becomes even sweeter.】

“The only ingredient is an apple, and honey is an optional ingredient? That means it’s actually required.” 

Besides honey, there are three other optional ingredients that haven’t been unlocked yet—he guessed that the player has to experiment to figure them out. Nan Liujing stared at the recipe, pondering the information revealed by each entry. 

“The reference price is only 210 Sol? That’s a huge difference from the baked apple I just made, which cost 500 Sol.”

After thinking for a moment, Nan Liujing realized where the problem lay: “It must be a star rating issue. This recipe doesn’t specify a star rating, so the reference price shown is probably based on using half-star apples.”

In any case, pondering the text any further was just building castles in the air. The immediate priority was to test the cooking function for herself right away. The baked apple recipe on the page was still grayed out, indicating insufficient ingredients. Nan Liujing transferred an apple from his storage to his backpack, and the recipe finally lit up.

“Oh, right, I can add ingredients…” Nan Liujing tried dragging 1 unit of honey into the ingredients slot, only to gasp in shock the next second. 

“What? It’s actually going to consume the entire unit of honey?!”

Are you kidding me? One unit of honey is 100g! When he made it himself just now, he only used 5g!

This must be a limitation of the system’s automated process—after all, there’s no unit smaller than 1. Nan Liujing quickly dragged the honey back out. That consumption rate was terrifying; he didn’t have that much honey to waste.“Just one apple will do! Alright, start cooking!”

The moment he pressed the confirmation button, Nan Liujing suddenly felt a tingling sensation run through his entire body.

An inexplicable force surged through the tablet into his body, taking control of his movements—and those movements were absurdly fast! 

By the time he realized what was happening, his fingers were already scooping out the apple’s core.

The flames in the fireplace danced ten times faster, and his movements were so swift they left afterimages, as if the space around him had been put on fast-forward. In just four minutes, Nan Liujing found a steaming baked apple in his hands. It looked just as good as the one he’d made himself—if not even a little prettier.

Nan Liujing was stunned, holding the baked apple for a long moment before coming to his senses.

“Holy crap… is this that good?”

【Baked Apple ★★★】

【Category: Cooking】

【Perfect for cold weather; baking brings out the apple’s natural sweetness. Restores 30 Stamina upon consumption.】

【Suggested Price: 500 Sol.】

【Status: Fresh】

The two baked apples sat side by side—same star rating, same price, and even the effects were identical. If there was any difference, it was probably just that one serving had the sweet, honeyed aroma while the other didn’t.

But this aroma… was just as good.

Nan Liujing swallowed hard. Come to think of it, he hadn’t had lunch yet. He’d only eaten two bites of that candied apple earlier.

“Anyway… let’s eat first.”

His hand holding the chopsticks hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he chose one of them.

The tip of the stainless steel chopstick gently pierced the baked apple. After baking, the skin had softened considerably, and the rounded chopstick sliced through effortlessly, breaking open the soft, amber-colored flesh.

A slightly darker juice was squeezed out, releasing the apple’s rich, sweet fragrance. Nan Liujing picked up a piece of apple flesh and eagerly brought it to his mouth, only to widen his eyes the next second.

So soft!

It required no chewing at all; with just a gentle press of his tongue, the flesh melted in his mouth. His Adam’s apple bobbed once, and the sweet, pulpy mixture slid smoothly down his throat, its soothing warmth traveling all the way to his stomach.

“…So sweet.”

For those who prefer the crisp texture of raw apples, baked apples might not be that impressive. But for Nan Liujing, who hadn’t had a proper meal in days, this was truly a perfect treat.

Nan Liujing ate heartily, devouring an entire baked apple in just a minute. By now, his strength had fully returned, but his stomach still had room. Rubbing his belly, he remembered the candied apple he’d left behind outside the house.

“I worked so hard yesterday; surely eating one more apple today won’t bring any bad karma.” Whispering this to justify his gluttony, Nan Liujing got up and walked out of the farmhouse.

‌At a glance, he saw the little white fox standing on its hind legs, perched beside a plastic stool. Nan Liujing had previously used this stool as a makeshift base, on which he had placed a small stainless steel bowl filled with candied apples. Nian Gao was now peering over the edge, sneakily licking the apple chunks in the bowl, his tongue sticking out a long way.

“… Nian Gao!”

Nan Liujing shouted, startling the little fox cub into jerking its neck back.

Nan Liujing strode over menacingly. Nian Gao, sensing danger, turned to run, but Nan Liujing grabbed it by the scruff of the neck and lifted it up.

“You’re pretty bold, aren’t you? Stealing my food?”

“Wah-wah,” Nian Gao whimpered softly, not daring to resist, his paws and tail hanging limply as if he knew he’d done wrong. But Nan Liujing licked his juice-stained lips, his face still full of satisfaction. His entire fox face radiated a look that said, “I’ll try that again next time.”

Sure enough, the kid was a natural! 

Nan Liujing took the bowl of ruined candied apples and gave the little fox cub a light tap on the head.“Wah! Wah-wah!”

He hadn’t used any force at all, yet the little fox whimpered pitifully, as if it had suffered the greatest injustice.

“Dare you cry out again?” Nan Liujing decisively flicked it twice more, gently!

He wasn’t the type to spoil his child—he was the strict kind who knew when to take firm action! 

After three consecutive taps on the head, the little fox finally behaved. Nan Liujing set it down, and the little fox scurried away with its tail between its legs, leaving Nan Liujing to worry over that bowl of candied apples.

“What am I supposed to do with this stuff…”

Considering this was a survival game with scarce resources, he should follow the ancient adage that “clean food never makes you sick” and eat the candied apples. But he had seen the little fox cub licking the apples with his own eyes. The little thing had only been here for a day—who knew what it had been eating on Fresh Fruit Island? 

And it hadn’t even brushed its teeth yet…Nan Liujing rubbed his temples in agony. Ultimately, it was his own mindset that was off. He’d only been in the survival game for six days; he hadn’t quite shaken off his Earth hygiene habits yet. But could he really just throw away the candied apple? He’d used so much fruit to make it! 

After mulling it over, Nan Liujing looked at the item description above the candied apple—which was identical to the previous one—and suddenly, a wicked idea popped into his head. 

“Why not just sell this candied apple…”

Is that okay? It should be okay, right? After all, it was only licked a few times by that little fox cub… Since the item description doesn’t say eating it will cause illness, it should be fine!

Besides, the other players don’t know the full story behind these candied apples… Alright! Yes! That’s what I’ll do!

However, even though he thought that, when it actually came time to list them in the trading zone, Nan Liujing’s hand honestly wrote down the truth.

【Candied Apple x1, Trade for Iron Nails x18. A dish made with various fruits and honey; it tastes pretty good. But I took my eyes off it for a second, and a little animal sneakily licked it a couple of times. If you don’t mind, feel free to trade.】

“Sigh, my moral standards are just too high…”

With a sigh, Nan Liujing set a high price and, while he was at it, listed the baked apples prepared by the system’s auto-posting feature as well.

【Baked Apple x1, sweet and delicious, a great energy booster. Buy now while it’s still warm. Trade for 25 iron nails.】

Just as Nan Liujing posted the listing for the baked apple, the candied apple had already been snapped up. Within seconds, the baked apple was gone too. The speed took Nan Liujing aback: “Are these dishes really that popular?”

The baked apple selling fast was within his expectations; after all, its effects were truly impressive—high recovery, sweet flavor, and a great way to replenish energy in critical moments. But what about the candied apple? 

Surely he hadn’t had time to finish the listing yet.

“Who cares? They’re sold anyway.” 

He didn’t offer after-sales service—it was too late for buyers to change their minds! With a clear mind, Nan Liujing shut down his tablet, dug out a makeshift fishing rod from his pile of odds and ends, and decided to go fishing for the first time in ages. 

He planned to head out to sea again today. He’d just been out yesterday and nearly worked himself to death, so he needed to take a breather.

Besides, even if he went out to sea, he had a way to gather supplies. While it was still a peaceful day and he had a fireplace, he felt it was essential to catch plenty of fish, dry them, and stockpile them as food reserves. 

Plus, his important bird companion needed fresh, tasty little fish to maintain their friendly relationship. Today was another day without finding a treasure chest. During the morning low tide, aside from a pile of trash, there were only a few scattered materials and a plastic stool. Right now, Nan Liujing picked up the plastic stool and headed toward the pier. 

He was sick of fishing in the reef area—all he ever caught was a pile of trash. Nan Liujing reflected on his situation and realized it wasn’t his problem at all—it was the feng shui of the reef area! Now that the island has a pier, it could easily be developed into a fishing spot. 

A new fishing spot meant a fresh start—he was bound to catch something!

Just as Nan Liujing sat on the pier letting his rod soak up the sun, on another island not too far away, the slightly balding Li Shechu reached behind his back to pull out a bowl of candied apples. He held it to his face and took a deep sniff: “Mmm—delicious! 

This craftsmanship is truly top-notch. And they’re selling them so cheaply—is the seller out of their mind?

“Count how many ingredients are in there, and they’re only selling for 18 iron nails? The seller is definitely losing money.

“To land such a bargain—it’s only fitting for me!”

As for the transaction details? Li Shechu nodded, but didn’t give it a second thought. Sure, some little critters had licked at them a few times—but he was from Guangdong. He’d eaten his fair share of food nibbled on by cockroaches since he was a kid; he was long desensitized to that sort of thing.

Besides, he’d bought them to eat himself anyway. Li Shechu found a white porcelain plate with a lace-like rim, neatly arranged the apple slices one by one into a flower shape, poured some juice over them, and scattered the passion fruit seeds throughout to serve as the flower’s pistils. In just a few minutes, a plate of candied apples—which would sell for at least 88 on Earth—was complete. 

Li Shechu cheerfully carried the plate to the beach, where a creature—a beautiful woman from the waist up and a blue mermaid from the waist down—lay curled up weakly in the shallow water. Li Shechu waded through the water to approach her, his face taking on the humble expression he used to deal with his superiors at the office. 

He respectfully held out the plate: “Your Excellency Samir, I have brought you food.” The mermaid opened her eyes; set within her beautiful eye sockets were a pair of cold, vertical pupils. She slowly sat up and reached out a hand. Her fingers were slender, with translucent webbing between them, and her nails were sharp enough to kill a person. The mermaid held the tray and examined it: “Is this what humans eat?”

“Yes.” Li Shechu kept his eyes fixed on his nose, not daring to meet the mermaid’s gaze. This lady had torn a great white shark apart with her bare hands in the ocean just this morning; Li Shechu would be crazy to offend her. Even though she seemed quite weak, Li Shechu knew his own limits. He wasn’t about to pick a fight with this mermaid. So it was best not to make any rash moves. The mermaid wrinkled her nose, seemingly finding the food’s scent peculiar, then picked up a slice of apple with interest and popped it straight into her mouth.

“Crunch!”

The mermaid narrowed her eyes. Li Shechu didn’t dare look up at her expression; he could only watch as the apples on the plate vanished at lightning speed, and soon even the sauce was gone. The mermaid licked the plate clean, then casually snapped the white porcelain plate in half, crunching it down her throat. Li Shechu lowered his head even further, cold sweat pouring down his back. 

After finishing, the mermaid let out a satisfied belch: “Mmm, the fruit really is delicious. As for those white, round cookies—they’re passable in texture, but the taste is just… well.”

So that thing actually had some texture to it!? 

Li Shechu didn’t dare call it a cookie; he just nodded like a chick pecking at grain, meekly accepting the criticism.

After a hearty meal, the mermaid’s strength returned. She slapped her tail and, before returning to the sea, remembered to pay for the meal. Savoring the taste of the food, the mermaid pulled out a pale blue pearl and tossed it to Li Shechu.

“Thanks for the food. I’m off now.”

Li Shechu fumbled to catch the pearl, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

Yay, mission reward secured! He knew this had to be a hidden event.

The mermaid swam back into the deep sea without looking back. Back on the island, Li Shechu glanced at the item description for the pearl, and the corners of his mouth immediately stretched all the way to his ears.

“I hit the jackpot! I hit the jackpot!” This time, he didn’t just break even—he made a killing!‌‌

How could he keep something this good all to himself? He had to share it with his family on the forum! 

Li Shechu pulled out his tablet and started typing furiously.

【Guys, can you believe it? I ran into a real mermaid!】